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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bark · foot · cold · lie · ground · vault · chair · bat

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. bat — the animal
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. ground — the earth
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. foot — a measure
  10. chair — a leader
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. cold — not warm
  16. ground — crushed
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. vault — a safe
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. ground — a position
  21. lie — to recline
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. foot — the bottom

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com